My wife's computer uses a 2.5-inch Samsung 1TB SATA SSD, not NVMe. On the first boot today, it entered the boot setup and reported that the boot volume could not be loaded because the SSD had a "Threshold Exceeded" error. I removed the drive and connected it to another computer through a SATA-to-USB dock. It appeared in File Explorer briefly, seemed to be reading, and then disappeared.
I have a new 500GB Samsung 870 EVO available, SpinRite 6.1, and Windows installation media, though I do not have a system backup. Is there still a reasonable way to recover files from the failing 1TB SSD, or should I stop trying and rebuild Windows on the replacement drive?
There is also an 8TB hard drive connected to the computer containing my wife's pictures and business files. It appears healthy, but I want to know whether reinstalling Windows or replacing the SSD could affect access to that drive.
2 Answers
The 8TB data drive should remain accessible as long as it is healthy and you do not accidentally format or partition it during the Windows installation. For extra safety, disconnect it while installing Windows onto the replacement SSD, then reconnect it after the system is running. If the data drive is encrypted with BitLocker or another tool, you will need the recovery key or password; a Microsoft account may have the BitLocker key saved in its device recovery information.
Treat the original SSD as failing and avoid repeatedly trying to boot from it or browse it. The safest approach is to connect it as a secondary drive and make a sector-by-sector image or clone, preferably with Linux and a tool such as GNU ddrescue, which can skip unreadable areas and return to them later. Perform file recovery against the image rather than the original drive. If the drive keeps disappearing, that points to a hardware or controller problem, and professional recovery may be the best option. SpinRite is not the first thing I would use on a drive that is already unstable, since it can place additional stress on it.
I don’t currently have a Linux system set up, but this is probably the push I needed to finish configuring my Ubuntu dual boot. I’ll try to image the drive before doing anything else.